Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Okay, so after a full night of sleep (Hunter Puppy didn't wake up even once! He slept through the night!) let me return to the School Nurse story. Where were we? I told all about coumadin, and how crazy things were with the school....okay: basically, things being as they were before school started, they wouldn't even let me meet with the kindergarten teacher before the first day of school. B and I were able to meet with the principal and school nurse the week before school started. I put a lot of effort into making and illustrated handout that detailed all of S's medical issues, explained coumadin and the risk of accidents, went over emergency protocol, and provided every phone number I could. Wheew! I even brought them a stack of red towels to use for nosebleeds or other issues of blood. When B and I met with the school nurse and principal, our goal was to basically scare their socks off so that they would be committed to providing S with adequate supervision. It must have worked, because shortly after our meeting the school board approved the hiring of an additional kindergarten teacher.

But I was still nervous, sending S off to school that first day. I have worked so hard these last few years to keep her healthy and safe and help her to reach her full potential. It was terrifying thinking that a push on the playground could potentially erase all we've achieved in the past five years. So I prayed hard, mustered faith and hope, and put S on the bus that first day. (Then I jumped in my van and raced to the school so I could be there when she got off the bus!)

She looked so small getting off the bus! But she was SO EXCITED to be going to school, "just like E and J." How could I deny her that experience?

Obviously, I couldn't. But that didn't stop me from jumping every single time the phone rang for the first two weeks of school. Then I started to breathe more easily. Yesterday, when the phone rang, I was actually surprised to see the school identified on caller I.D. It was the school nurse. S was having a nosebleed. (My heart jumped up in my throat. S's nosebleeds can be really, really awful.) But it seemed to be stopping. (Really? Already? Yay!) And S had found her red towel herself and let her teacher know she was bleeding. (Good for S!) She should be able to return to class in just a few moments. (Easy as that? No way!)

The Quote that Really Inspires Me:

"You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter. "What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. "If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage"